UPDATE: Omnicare Q4 Profit Rises 89%

Omnicare OCR reported an 89% surge in its fourth-quarter earnings. Omnicare's quarterly profit rose to $59 million, or $0.54 per share, from $31.2 million, or $0.34 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding special items, its adjusted earnings from continuing operations came in at $0.86 per share. Its revenue fell 1.7% to $1.53 billion. However, analysts expected earnings of $0.85 per share on revenue of $1.51 billion. Its gross margin widened to 24.6% from 23.1%. For the year, Omnicare expects earnings of $3.47 to $3.57 per share on revenue of $6.1 billion to $6.2 billion. However, analysts projected earnings of $3.53 per share on revenue of $6.22 billion. Omnicare shares closed at $39.57 on Friday.